Being A Teenager With PCOS

Growing up during the beginning of my middle school years, I was very active & sociable. It was odd for me not to play any sports, or talk to people.

In 6th grade, my usually regular period stopped. I [nor my parents] were concerned about it, because it seemed like it was going to cut on again. I had just gotten my period the year before, & so I thought I’d be one of those girls where my period would disappear for a bit, but come back.

8th grade approaches, & my period is nowhere to be found. My mother is now extremely worried. Aside from the lack of the monthly cycle, I’ve gained about 7o pounds. I’ve completely stopped playing sports, & I never wanted to go out. I was so depressed that I would cry all the time, thinking the world was against me. I would keep to myself, even at school. I became self-conscious because I didn’t want to be teased for my weight. My mother, oblivious to my changes until the extreme happened, took me to a doctor to get checked.

It was the appointment that diagnosed me with PCOS. Back then, it was just taking a bit of press, so hardly anyone knew about it–or if they did, they weren’t very knowledgeable. My OB/GYN gave me pills to turn my period back on. I felt weird, like a robot. I needed pills to have what’s supposed to be natural to me.

My regular doctor had no idea what PCOS was. He diagnosed me with diabetes, which was true–I have Type 2. He put me on metformin, then wanted to give me meds for my acne & depression. I declined them–I didn’t want to take more medicine than I had to. For awhile [& while I had insurance] I was taking the Pill, metformin, & Actos.

Today, I’m 19 years old. It’s been about 4 or 5 years since the diagnosis. I’m paying more attention to my condition, because I’m older & understand how it’s affecting me. I do want to have children naturally one day. I hope that can happen. For right now, I’m just focusing on making myself healthier while trying to get this Bachelor’s degree! :]

At the moment, I’m on no medication. It’s not by choice, but because I haven’t been to a doctor in awhile. I think I should be stressing out about it more, but I’m not. I do exercise about twice a week. I think that thanks to my moving around, I have my period without the help of the Pill. I hope that cycle can continue. My main focus is to make sure that my ovaries are okay, & that there aren’t any growths that could harm my future childbearing. The most bothersome thing about my PCOS is the body hair! My gosh, it’s annoying! It seems like my legs are hairier than normal, not to mention the annoyance of dealing with the facial hair.